Manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and other processing entities with facilities (which may collectively be referred to as materials handling facilities) typically receive; process and send (e.g., sell) materials. For example, retailers, wholesalers, and other product distributors (which may collectively be referred to as distributors) typically order, receive and maintain an inventory of various items that may be ordered by clients or customers for delivery.
A control system in a materials handling facility may direct agents to pick items from inventory to fulfill customer orders for the items. The agents may place the picked items on a conveyance mechanism that transports the items to various processing stations, such as a sort station or area where items may be sorted into orders and/or to pack stations or areas where items may be packed into shipping containers.
Agents at the pack stations that pack items into shipping containers may select a particular size shipping container from a location in the pack station where it is stored. The agent may build the shipping container and scan various identifiers associated with the shipping container and items being placed into the container as the agent packs the items into the shipping container. Packing software may monitor the packing process (e.g., via the scanning activity) such that errors may be detected in the packing process. However, the packing process, error detection, and error notification may be performed in such a manner that detected errors are brought to the attention of the agent only after the agent has lost the ability to correct the error.
For example, agents may be incentivized to perform the packing process quickly. In some cases, agents may ignore cues or instructions that are supplied for packing a container (e.g., instructions provided on a display at the pack station) and instead may rely upon their own knowledge or other cues at the pack station to perform the pack process. For instance, agents may instead rely upon the order the items arrive at the pack station or rely upon the arrangement of the items in a receptacle received at the pack station to determine what items to pack into a container. In some of these instances, for example when the sortation was incorrect, packages may be packed incorrectly despite displayed instruction that could have resolved the error and the package may be sent from the pack station before the error is detected.
In another example, the packing process itself may be such that certain types of errors may not be detected until after the package has left the packing station. Some packing error detection systems may rely upon receiving indications from scanners at the pack station that indicate a step in a packing process has been performed. For instance, a packing error detection system may include logic that waits for an indication that a packing process for the next package has begun (e.g., scan information from another shipping container) before inferring or determining that the received indication suggests that the prior package must have been sent from the pack station. Such packing error detection logic cannot indicate an error such as incomplete packing until the pack process for the next shipment has begun and the previous package has already left. Correcting errors at a pack station with such logic can be difficult, if not impossible.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.